Lock for by-passing doors



p 1955 J- G. STERLING ET AL 2,717,512

LOCK FOR BY-PASSING DOORS Filed Sept. 21, 1954 5 INVENTORS.

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United States Patent LOCK FOR BY-PASSING DOORS John G. Sterling, Skokie, and Thorwald Ohman, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Sterling Hardware Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application September 21, 1954, Serial No. 457,385

7 Claims. (Cl. 70-100) tion over an opening by the simple lock mechanism of 7 our invention.

The practical utility and desirability of employing bypassing sliding doors for purposes such as closet doors, cabinet doors, retractable wall separators, etc. is well recognized. However, to date, we are not aware of a successful lock means whereby such by-passing sliding doors may be locked in a closed position over the opening in which they move. Thus the need for a simplified and efficient lock of a variety capable of association with lay-passing sliding doors has been long felt in the building hardware trade. It is to such an instrument and device that our present inventive efforts are directed.

Generally speaking, our lock comprises a conventional tumbler locking device which is key operated in a familiar manner and which is arranged to rotate a gear member engageable with a secondary segmental gear carrying suitable stop means and moveable on or about a pivot axle for actuating a locking tongue or swingbolt member. The lock design is such that rotation of the barrel lock by the key means, causes an in and out arcuate action of the swing bolt which, in respect to a related pair of sliding doors, is designed to locate itself immediately behind one door when the same is in its closed position; the lock being rigidly fixed to the second door.

It is the general object of our invention to provide a new and improved door lock capable of locking sliding doors of the by-passing variety against sliding movement.

It is another object of our invention to provide a new and improved door lock having unique and improved features of design, construction and operation whereby a lock of improved character is provided for use with bypassing sliding doors.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a new and improved lock for by-passing doors, the same being capable of permitting free passage of such doors,

when in an unlocked state, or to successfully prevent sliding movement thereof when in a locked condition of operation.

The above and further objects, features and advantages of this invention will be recognized and appreciated by those familiar with the art as the following description of its features appear. Particularly it is felt that the advantages and concepts of our invention will be more clearly understood with reference to a preferred embodiment of its aspects as found in and illustrated in the ac comp'anyin'g drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, showing the arrangement of our improved lock with and between a pair of bypassing sliding doors and the like;

Figure 2 is an enlarged partial view in cross-section taken substantially from vantage line 2-2 of Figure l,

showing the operational features of our lock when the same is in a closed or locked state of operation;

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of our improved lock, looking at the right hand end thereof as viewed in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an end elevational view similar in most respects to Figure 3 with the exception that the lock thereof is shown in its nonoperative or unlocked condition;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially at line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view in cross-section, looking downwardly from the top of the lock substantially along vantage line 6-6 of Figure 2, the same being a partial representation of the device showing its arrangement of elements; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially at line 7-7 of Figure 6 looking in the direction of the arrows thereon.

Turning now to the features of our invention as disclosed in the accompanying drawings, it will be understood from Figure 1 that a pair of by-passing sliding doors Ill-10a are arranged in a door opening defined by frame members 11-11. Such doors are arranged to move along an overhead suspension system in a conventional manner and intermediate the two jamb frame members 11-11. Our lock assembly 12 is shown therein in its mounted condition on one of the doors 10 in operation for preventing by-passing movement of the two doors across the door opening. Specifically, it will be appreciated that our lock '12 is designed to be mounted in the forwardly positioned door 10 so that the same may project in an interfering relation behind the trailing edge of the inwardly positioned door 10a when conditioned to'lock the doors. This interference of the lock with the rearwardly positioned door 10a substantially prevents rolling movement of the two doors relative to one another.

With particular reference to Figures 2 through 7 of the drawings, it will be understood that the lock assembly or mechanism 12 comprises a cylindrical metal lock casing or shell in which is mounted a conventional barrel lock means 21 (see Figure 5). The barrel lock 21 is manually operated by a key means 22 and is held against rotation within sleeve 20 by means of an inwardly set lug member 23 formed in the side walls of the barrel sleeve member 20 which engages a suitable slot 23a in the barrel lock. The sleeve 20 is also flanged outwardly at one end to form a substantially square mounting plate portion 24 through which screw members 25 are inserted for attaching the same to the door 10; mounting plate 24 being disposed on the opposite face of door 10 from that which accommodates insertion of the operating key member 22. A cylindrical finish ring 26 surrounds the barrel sleeve 20 and serves to hide the edges of the cylindrical opening bored through the door member.

With regard to the mounting of the lock mechanism 12, it wil be understood that the same is located in the forwardly positioned door 10 of the two door sliding doors, as mentioned, and adjacent a leading edge 27 thereof. The barrel lock 21 is provided with a rotatable tumbler barrel 28 which supports a driving pinion gear 29 at one end. A retaining snap ring 30 is used to keep the barrel in position within its housing or shell 31 and I a cylindrical shoulder 32 is provided in projecting fashion axially outward of the pinion gear 29 for purposes which will appear presently. It is of course to be understood that turning of the key member 22 serves to rotate the tumbler barrel 28 and gear 29 attached thereto.

. Mounted on a shaft member 34, extending transversely across the barrel housing 20 and adjacent the bevel gear 29 and shoulder 32, is a segmental gear 35; such segmental gear being rotatable about shaft 34 between a pair of semi-spherical embossed ear portions 3636 formed on opposite sides of a rectangular swing bolt member 37. The pinion 29 and gear 35 are in meshing relation and, as best shown in Figure 5, the swing bolt member 37 is disposed such that a portion of its planar rectangular area rests adjacently across a flattened or severed side 38 of the segmental gear member. Therefore, the gear sector of the segmental gear member extends beneath the planar platform of swing bolt member 37, so that as the segmental gear 35 is rotatably driven about shaft 34, the swing bolt swings arcuately about the axis of the gear 35 and toward and away from the adjacent face of door 10.

Of additional importance with regard to the segmental gear member 35, is a rectangular projection 39 formed on an elongated mounting hub 40 of such gear. This structure is best shown in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings. Such projection 39 is arranged to abuttingly engage the cylindrical shoulder 32 formed at the outer end of the driving pinion 29 and is so positioned as to engage such shoulder 32 when the swing bolt is moved to a substantially horizontal position, as illustrated best in Figures 2 and 6 of the drawings. Thus projection 39 acts as positive stop means for limiting the upward arcuate motion of the swing bolt member 37 (see Figure 7). The lower arcuate stop position of the swing bolt is determined by its engagement with the plate portion 24 of the casing 20, as when the bolt is swung to its substantially vertical position illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings. As stated before, the extension of the segmental gear 35 beneath the platform of the swing bolt 37, serves to support and prevent the same from rotating about shaft 34 relative to the segmental gear.

It should also be noticed that with the swing bolt and gear mounted in front of the pinion 29, the extended stop shoulder 32 engages the adjacent cylindrical face of the elongated hub 40 formed with the segmental gear 35. Such engagement substantially prevents any and all axial movement of the barrel lock and pinion toward the swing bolt. Thus the barrel lock is tightly held against held against axial movement between the hub or the segmental gear and the turned over end wall of the sleeve casing 20.

The above described elements comprise the assembled combination of our invention with the exception of a bearing plate means 41 which is secured to a trailing edge 42 of door 10a as by screw members 4343. Such bearing plate serves as a wear resisting element to prevent gouging of the trailing edge of door 10a when the swing bolt 37 is swung to its horizontal position to prevent sliding by-passing of the two doors.

Operation of this device is simple and is believed to be clear from the foregoing description. Briefly, however, it will be realized that appropriate rotation of the member 22 in the barrel lock 21 serves to rotate pinion gear 29 causing rotation of the segmental gear 35 disposed on the transversely related shaft 34. Motion of gear 35 carries the swing bolt 37 therewith; the latter being carried on shaft 24 through the semi-spherical ear portions 36 which also act as a bearing means for preventing lateral play of the swing bolt since such ear portions engage the interior walls of the barrel lock housing or sleeve member 20. Also note that the normal assembly of a lock of this class is such that the arcuate movement of the swing bolt member is substantially in a vertical direction or that is about a horizontal axis as defined by pin shaft 34. Thus when the doors 10 and 10a are in a closed position as shown in Figure l, the raising of the swing bolt to a position immediately adjacent and to the rear of the trailing edge 42 of door 10a will effectively prevent by-passing or relative motion between the two doors. Conversely, depressing of the swing bolt to a position alongside the rearward face of door 10, (see Figure 5 of the drawings) permits free passage and sliding movement of the two doors.

From the above described features and elements of the preferred embodiment of our present invention, it will be understood that a new and improved door lock useful particularly in sliding by-passing doors, has been presented. Further, while we have herein shown and described the concepts of our invention as related to a particular embodiment thereof shown in the drawings, obviously numerous changes, modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be resorted to therein without necessarily departing from its spirit and scope. As a consequence it is not our present intention that we be limited to the particular form and features of our invention herein illustrated and described except as may appear in the following appended claims.

We claim:

1. A lock of the class described for use with by-passing sliding doors and the like, comprising in combination, a key operated barrel lock means adapted to be mounted in an opening formed through one of a pair of by-passing sliding doors, the axis of said barrel lock means being substantially horizontal, a swing bolt member mounted at one end for pivotal movement, the pivot axis for said bolt member being substantially horizontal but transverse to the longitudinal axis of said lock means and the same being located inwardly of one face of said door, first gear means driven rotatably by said lock means, second gear means driven by said first gear means, means interconnecting said swing bolt member with said second gear means, the rotational axis of said second gear means and the pivotal axis of said bolt member being common, and means for limiting the pivotal motion of said bolt member between limits located substantially 90 apart.

2. In a door lock, a cylindrical casing having one end formed with a planar plate portion for securing said casing in a bored opening formed through a door, a key operated barrel lock mechanism mounted in said casing, a driving pinion gear mounted coaxially of said lock mechanism and rotatably driven thereby, a projecting shoulder formed adjacent said gear and extending axially outward therefrom, a shaft means mounted transversely across the interior of said casing and adjacent one end thereof, a segmental gear having a flattened cut-away surface rotatably mounted on said shaft means, said segmental and pin-ion gears having meshing engagement, a substantially rectangular swing bolt member pivotally mounted on said shaft means and engaging the flattened surface of said segmental gear, said swing bolt member being moveable with said segmental gear about said shaft means, and a stop projection means formed on said segmental gear for engatging the said projecting shoulder when the segmental gear is rotated to a position wherein said swing bolt member lies substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said casing.

3. A lock for by-passing sliding doors of the class described, comprising, a substantially cylindrical casing member adapted to be mounted to extend through a door, a key operated barrel lock means mounted coaxially within said casing member, a pinion gear mounted coaxially at one end of said lock means and rotatably driven thereby, a pin member mounted transversely across said casing member adjacent said gear, a segmental gear member mounted rotatably on said pin member in meshing engagement with said pinion gear, and a substantially rectangular swing bolt member mounted at one end on said pin member for pivotal movement, said swing bolt member engaging a flattened area of said segmental gear member such that the same is caused to move arcuately between limits with said segmental gear member in response to rotation of said pinion gear.

4. A lock for by-passing doors, comprising, a cylindrical casing having open ends and a plate portion formed at its one end for securing the same in an opening formed through a door, a barrel lock assembly mounted in said casing and operated by key means for rotating a tumbler barrel thereof, a pinion gear mounted at one end of said tumbler barrel and rotatable therewith, segmental gear means engaged with said pinion gear and rotatable about an axis disposed transversely of the longitudinal axis of said tumbler barrel, a shaft means for supporting said segmental gear means and defining the rotational axis thereof, a swing bolt member mounted on said shaft means for rotational movement thereabont in accordance with the movements of said segmental gear means, said swing bolt member extending partially over said segmental gear means and engaging a flattened area thereon in such a manner that rotational movement of said segmental gear means causes responsive pivotal actuation of said swing bolt member, and stop means formed on said segmental gear means for limiting its movement in one direction, movement of said segmental gear means in an oppoiste direction being'limited by engagement of said swing bolt member with the plate portion of said casing.

5. A lock for by-passing sliding doors of the class described, comprising, a substantially cylindrical casing member insertable through a door, a key operated barrel lock means mounted in said casing member, a pinion member mounted coaxially with said lock means and rotatably driven thereby, a stop shoulder extending axially outward of said pinion member, a shaft pin supported at its ends by opposite side walls of said casing member and lying transverse to the rotational axis of said pinion member, a segmental gear member having an elongated cylindrical hub portion rotatably mounted on said shaft pin and having meshing engagement with said pinion member, a stop projection formed on said hub portion for engaging the stop shoulder of said pinion member thereby to limit movement of said segmental gear member in one direction, a swing bolt member having an elongated planar platform portion and a pair of semi-spherical ear portions depending from one end of said platform portion, said ear portions serving to pivotally connect said swing bolt member to said shaft pin, said ear portions engaging opposite interior side walls of said casing member outwardly of the axial ends of said hub portion thereby to serve as an axial spacer and bearing means, said segmental gear member and swing bolt member being eonjointly and simultaneously moveable about said shaft pin whereby rotation of said barrel lock means serves to arcuately swing said bolt member toward and away from the door to which the lock is mounted.

6. A lock for by-passing sliding doors of the class described, comprising, a substantially cylindrical lock casing adapted to be mounted to extend through a door, a key operated barrel lock means mounted coaxially within said casing, a pinion gear connected to one end of said lock means and coaxially rotatable therewith, a pin shaft member mounted transversely across said casing adjacent said pinion gear, a segmental gear member having an elongated hub portion mounted for rotation on said pin shaft member, said segmental gear member having meshing engagement with said pinion gear, a stop projection formed on said hub portion for engaging an axial extension of said pinion gear thereby to arrest movement of said segmental gear member in one direction, and a swing bolt member supported on said pin shaft member and moveable with said segmental gear member, said swing bolt member extending outwardly of one end of said casing so that movement of said segmental gear member causes the swing bolt member to move to and between positions transversely to and parallel with the rotation axis of said lock means; said swing bolt member when positioned parallel to the rotational axis of said lock means serving to prevent by-passing movement of an adjacent sliding door.

7. A lock assembly for by-passing sliding doors of the class described, comprising, a substantially cylindrical casing adapted to be mounted to extend through a door, a key operated barrel lock means mounted coaxially within said casing, a pinion gear member mounted coaxially with said lock means and rotatably driven thereby, an axial projection formed at one end of said pinion gear member, a pin member mounted transversely across said casing adjacent said pinion gear member, a segmental gear member mounted rotatably on said pin member and having an elongated cylindrical hub portion, a stop projection formed on said hub portion for engaging the axial projection on said pinion gear member thereby to limit movement of said segmental gear member in one direction, said axial projection of said pinion gear member engaging the exterior surface of said cylindrical hub portion to form a bearing means and prevent axial displacemment of said lock means, and a swing bolt member having a substantially planar platform portion and a pair of depending ear portions mounted on said pin member, said ear portions being disposed at opposite ends of said segmental gear member and serving as bearing washers between the ends of said segmental gear member and the adjacent side walls of said casing, said swing bolt member and said segmental gear member being conjointly rotatable about said pin member in response to rotation of said pinion gear member, the arrangement being such that said swing bolt member is adapted to move between arcuate limits located substantially apart so as to stand substantially transversely outward of and parallel to the face of a door in which the lock assembly is mounted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,050,692 Resch Jan. 14, 1913'- 1,424,136 Morgenthau July 25, 1922 2,049,860 Olson Aug. 4, 1936' 2,448,748 Vanderveld Sept. 7, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 32,061 Sweden Dec. 30, 1911 

